Togo: Elisabeth Pali-Tchalla calls for greater investment in the shea sector to empower women

Agriculture

Friday, 10 June 2022 14:44

Togo: Elisabeth Pali-Tchalla calls for greater investment in the shea sector to empower women

(Togo First) - Organized by the Global Shea Alliance, the Shea Conference 2022 took place in Lomé on June 6-8, 2022. The theme picked for this year was “Growing the future: strengthening resilience and restoration.”

During the event, Elisabeth Pali-Tchalla, who oversees the shea industry in Togo, highlighted the importance of supporting the sector to empower women in the country.

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“Looking at the field results, I can logically say that investing in shea butter helps empower women economically, especially in rural areas, and enables them to get out of poverty,” Pali-Tchalla said.

"I am glad that Togo and its development partners understand this approach so well. The holding of this shea conference in our country, for the first time, as we recover from Covid, gives us hope and helps us to revive the sector after the turmoil caused by the pandemic,” she added.

The 3-day meeting was a hybrid event with in-person and virtual attendance. It was opened by the US ambassador to Togo, Elisabeth Fitzsimmons, whose country backed the event.

Local and foreign actors who attended the conference discussed the shea sector’s sustainability, related practices, and food quality standards, as well as cosmetics.

Strengthening resilience

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The main topics covered included the state of the shea industry–a sector that employs many women, and how to introduce new demand trends, tap opportunities, and overcome trade barriers.

The conference aimed to strengthen the sector, by consolidating and financing existing strategies.

“We have set up a shea tree restoration fund, and with this fund, we aim to plant 10 million trees over the next 10 years. It’s been in existence for a long time, but now we want to give it a boost,” said the President of the Global Shea Alliance, Simbala Syll.

Elisabeth-Pali-Tchalla is, in addition to the Chairman of the Inclusive Federation of Togo’s Shea Industry, also the CEO of Société Togolaise du Karité (Togolese Company of Shea).

Togo is the seventh-largest producer of shea worldwide.

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.